


Optimism

by liveonthesun



Category: Pushing Daisies
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-08
Updated: 2008-12-08
Packaged: 2017-10-23 15:53:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/252134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liveonthesun/pseuds/liveonthesun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>In the excitement of being able to share a bed, Ned and Chuck both forgot to consider the consequences of a plastic barrier.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Optimism

The first night they used the separator was awkward. In the excitement of being able to share a bed, Ned and Chuck both forgot to consider the consequences of a plastic barrier. Where there should have been the warmth of two bodies side by side, there was just cold. Where there should have been softness of cloth and skin, there was just harshness. Where there should have been the soft brushing of fabrics and touching, there was just loud crinkling. Ned’s arm became sweaty as he kept it around Chuck’s waist, and Chuck’s silk nightgown rose up, causing her back to stick uncomfortably to the plastic.

After a couple of hours with no sleep, Chuck rolled over to face him. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” she said, her voice quite and sad. “Maybe we should just go back to being in separate beds.”

“Nothing ever works the way you’d like it to the first time,” Ned replied, reaching out a hand to press his thumb to her face through the plastic. “Let’s just try to finish tonight, then tomorrow we’ll know what needs to be changed and start thinking of ways to fix it.”

Chuck smiled. “And I always took you for being the pessimist.”

“Desperate times call for optimistic measures.”

And with that, she kissed him through the plastic and rolled back over.

***

The second night they changed a couple of things: Chuck wore her flannel pajamas and Ned made the arm extension larger. And it worked—a little too well.

“Ned, you’re squeezing me,” Chuck said.

“I’m holding you,” Ned answered, “do you know how often it is I get to hold you?”

“As often as I get to be held by you?”

“Yes. Which means you should understand my enthusiasm about how wonderful this is and how relieved I am that it’s working.”

“It’s not your enthusiasm. I love your enthusiasm: it’s the only thing that makes me feel better about my own enthusiasm about this. I’m just not sure how long your enthusiasm would last were I to stop breathing in the middle of the night.”

And so Ned moved his arm down, tracing the line of her thigh up and down until his hand curved over a comfortable area. Chuck pressed her leg into his touch, letting out a small sigh of enjoyment at the pressure.

***

The third night, Chuck decides to take a completely different approach to the whole matter. She makes sure she goes to bed before he does, cocooning herself with blankets and pretending to be asleep when he enters the room.

As he lies down next to her, she carefully slips off the blankets, and when he runs his hand down her side, he knows there aren’t any flannel pajamas between the plastic and her skin.

“Chuck?” he asks, voice hovering between whisper and speech.

“Mmhmm?”

“You’re not wearing clothes are you?”

“Nope.”

“And I’m guessing I shouldn’t be wearing mine?”

“It would be nice if you weren’t.”

And then she sits up, and as he removes his t-shirt and boxers, she removes the plastic sheet from where it hangs. By the light pouring in the window, he can see her smile, her absolutely wicked smile, as she lowers the sheet over him, straddles him and then brings her face down to his.

She moves her hips to rock against him, causing him to close his eyes and let out a low moan. “You were right,” she says, and he can hear the smile still in her voice, “the plastic did just take a bit of getting use to.”

She rocks her hips against him again and brings her mouth to his. As she placed open mouth kisses and ran her tongue along the sheet, he brought his hands up to play with her breasts, thumbs stationary as he kneaded. She began moving downward, kissing over his neck and chest and abdomen, lingering and lapping as she went, until she sat up.

Ned finds her absolutely gorgeous with her hair mussed around her face and her eyes closed, biting her bottom lip. They both know this is as close to fucking as they’ll probably ever get, her moving against him rhythmically and wonderfully, but never actually taking him in.

It doesn’t make it any less fantastic, though.

They come together, her with a cry and a hand on her right breast, him with a shudder and his hips jerking upwards.

As she finds the earth again, she brings her self down to lie next to him and rests her head on his chest.

“So I take it you’ve decided to keep the plastic?” he asks, running and hand up and down her back.

She answers with a quiet, “mmm,” before falling asleep.


End file.
